Search results for query: *

  • Users: NatJ
  • Order by date
  1. NatJ

    Slow feathering sapphire gem pullet

    I once had a pullet of a different sexlinked type (Red Sexlink) that was very slow to grow her feathers. Yes she was a female, but she looked nearly naked for a long time after the other chicks had all their feathers. I can't be positive about yours right now, but it definitely is possible to...
  2. NatJ

    17th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-Along

    That is pretty much what I've read, too, about homozygous rose comb roosters being less fertile than others. I've read that the sperm does not live as long after mating (so the rooster needs to mate with each hen more often), and I've read that they tend to mate less often. I have no personal...
  3. NatJ

    Egg Theatrics - how to ID the perpetrators

    You might look into chicken aprons (also called chicken saddles): those things that people put on the backs of hens after their feathers get worn out from over-mating by roosters. The aprons are sold in many different colors and designs, or I think there may be patterns to make your own...
  4. NatJ

    Hens or Roos? Breeds?

    The blue/green eggs would have come from hens that lay those colors (Easter Eggers or Cream Legbars or Ameraucanas or something like that.) Did either of them hatch? I didn't notice any chicks that would obviously be one of those kinds, but that could just mean that they didn't pass on the...
  5. NatJ

    Uh oh newbie mistake with turkey and chicken eggs put in incubator on same date! Help?

    It would be easier if all the eggs hatch at the same time. You would do that by starting them at different times. With turkey and chicken eggs, that probably means putting the turkey eggs in first, then adding the chicken eggs a week later. Or since you do have two incubators, you could use one...
  6. NatJ

    Things you wish you could say

    I agree about putting the dog in another room. But I don't know whether it's better to explain if asked, or dodge the issue with something vague like "it's part of her training." Sometimes explanations help, other times they just cause people to argue back and the whole situation gets worse...
  7. NatJ

    Hens or Roos? Breeds?

    What color were the eggs? Got it! In that case, since they are probably mixes: #8 has a rose comb. That means at least one parent with a rose or walnut comb. Given the color of the chick, I would guess that one parent is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. The chick may grow up to look like a Silver...
  8. NatJ

    Prolapsed Phallus

    Thank you so much for the update! And it is really good to know that it was able to recover even without access to a vet!
    • NatJ
    • Post #16
    • Forum: Ducks
  9. NatJ

    First time broody hen & transporting fertilized eggs questions

    Are you asking how many days of incubation to see development when you candle? Yes, I'd say 4 days is about the soonest that most people can see anything. It can be a bit earlier or later depending on how bright the light is, how dark the room is, how thick & dark the egg shell is, developing...
  10. NatJ

    First time broody hen & transporting fertilized eggs questions

    Sounds like you've got this figured out pretty well: sensible plans, and realistic expectations. That is encouraging news, that this hen comes from a local line that does well in the heat, and that local people find that their hens can successfully hatch & raise chicks in those temperatures...
  11. NatJ

    Progeny from heroic rooster

    Thanks! If neither rooster and none of the other hens have blue, then a chick with blue would definitely have to come from one of those Arctic Blue Eggers. Nice for identification!
  12. NatJ

    Hog feed for eggs?

    That sounds likely to me too. Another common one is to add cat food. But when I look at the prices, it is cheaper to just buy chick food, rather than buying layer food (lower protein) and cat food (higher protein and MUCH higher cost). If someone was already raising of hogs, and they were...
  13. NatJ

    Hog feed for eggs?

    Depending on which kind of hog feed, it might be a difference in protein. You can sometimes also get that by using chick starter or an all-flock feed. Or maybe he just happened to give them hog feed at the time of year they were going to lay best anyway. That kind of thing does happen...
  14. NatJ

    First time broody hen & transporting fertilized eggs questions

    I would make sure she has plain water too. Overdosing on electrolytes can cause problems. For example, diarrhea is never good, but it's an extra problem in a broody hen. I agree with the advice to move the feed & water out of the nestbox. Definite maximum: if you put them underneath and they...
  15. NatJ

    Hog feed for eggs?

    Where did you find this? Did it give any reasons? For anything to be "better," that means it is being compared with something. If someone is comparing hog feed with no feed, then of course it is better. This could have been the case at some points in the past when people often expected...
  16. NatJ

    Progeny from heroic rooster

    Checking abbreviations: DE = Delaware BR = Barred Rock BuffOrp = Buff Orpington If I've got them right, any chicks with no barring would have the DE/BuffOrp as their father (not-barring inherited from the Orpington side of that.) And any chicks that show gold in their coloring would also have...
  17. NatJ

    Things you wish you could say

    I know someone who always grumbles, "I should have shaved this before I came into the doctor's office." Of course it never does get remembered, so hair always gets pulled.
  18. NatJ

    Hens or Roos? Breeds?

    All of the ones that you label "Roo?" look to me like they probably are males. That is #1, 4, 6, 8, and 9. Maybe #7 as well. Where did you get the chicks? That can often help narrow down the list of possible breeds. My first guess would be backyard mixes, hatched from eggs from your own flock...
  19. NatJ

    Expert chicken enablers needed

    In that case, I would probably put a roost across each end of the current coop (so the "back" of each new coop), then nestboxes along part of the current front wall (the one with the door), and feeder/waterer just inside the entrance to each coop for easy reaching and tending. A poop board is...
  20. NatJ

    Expert chicken enablers needed

    I would probably put in one long roost across the back. Between 1 and 2 feet from the back wall (30 to 60 cm from the back wall). I would not bother with a poop board underneath, just let the droppings land on the floor underneath (cover them with fresh bedding as needed, and clean out when it...
Back
Top Bottom